Control apparatus



Oct. 10, 1944. Q MEYERHQEFER 2,360,254

CONTROL APPARATUS Filed 001:. 21, 1942 IN VEN TOR.

(ar/E/Veyer/me/f Patented Oct. 10, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTROL APPARATUS Carl E. Meyerhoefer, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to E. A. Laboratories, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 21, 1942, Serial No. 162,799

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improved lamp and especially a lamp and control circuit intended for use in aircraft and in similar installations, where a projectible lamp structure is desirable, or necessary.

As such, it is a primary object of the'present invention to provide a mechanism of this character and which will present functionally and structurally improved characteristics over the structure disclosed in my prior application, Serial Number 450,561, filed in the United States Patent Office July 1, 1942.

In its more specific aspects, it is a further object of the invention to provide a lamp structure in which no pitting or burning of the contacts will occur under normal conditions of use and in which, accordingly, the lamp structure may be operated for a great number of times without any danger of a failure occurring.

An additional object is that of providing a circuit control primarily intended for use in conjunction with a lamp of the type stated, but which control might, also, be otherwise employed and by means of which a freedom from failure of operation is substantially assured.

Still another object is that of providing a layout of mechanism by means of which the foregoing results may be achieved and which mechanism will be relatively simple and embody few and rugged parts capable of quantity manufacture and ready assemblage by unskilled labor.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating one practical embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lamp with the cover for the control mechanism removed to disclose the interior constructions;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, partly sectional side view of certain of the mechanisms as shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of the circuit embodied in this mechanism and also showing the individual elements which are included within the circuit.

As will be generally seen, the unit illustrated in the present drawing corresponds substantially to the one shown in the drawings of the previous application. More particularly, the ref erence numeral 5 indicates the housing and 6 the shell of the lamp. Within the latter, the lamp unit 1 indicated in Fig. 3 is mounted.

The shell is pivotally supported with respect to the housing as, for example, at 8 and an arcuate rack 9 may be connected to the shell and have its teeth engaged by a pinion (not shown) which is driven by a motor Ill within a housing iportion II. By closing one of the switches l2 or l3, the motor may be energized to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. This will cause the pinion to be correspondingly rotated to project or retract the rack 9. The latter being connected to the shell 6, it follows that this unit, together with the lamp contained within the same, will be moved, for example, from a position wholly within the housing 5 to a position at which the forward face of the shell extends perpendicular with respect to the forward face of the housing.

As will be understood by those conversant with a unit of this character, it is ordinarily desired that the lamp-when the shell is contained within the housing-shall be de-energized. It

is only when the shell is partially projected (has,

for example, rotated approximately l'0 around pivot 8) that the lamp should be energized. Thereafter, it should remain energized until the shell has again been substantially retracted within the housing. In order not to throw unnecessary duties on the operator of the mechanism who is usually the pilot of the aircraft, this energization of the lamp has been accomplished automatically.

With the foregoing in mind, it has been proposed in the preceding application for patent to provide a relatively movable contact strip and brush which were in electrical connection. These elements have been energized by the closing of a switch which occurred automatically after the lamp and shell had been projected from the housin to a certain extent. The circuit through the switch has had relatively high de-.

the contact strip through which the lamp is ener-.

gized is, according to the teachings of the present invention, formed of at least a pair of sections. These have been indicated by the reference numerals l4 and i5 and, as will be seen with particular reference to Fig. 2, the adjacent edges of these strips are arranged relatively close to each other and are preferably bevelled as has been indicated by the numeral [6. These contact strips are traversed by a brush H, the width of which is ample to bridge the distance or gap between the strips l4 and I5. Accordingly, no arcing will occur at this point.

As will be seen with reference to Fig. 1, a switch I8 is engageable by the brush or brush holder and this switch, through leads I!) and 20, serves to energize section l5 of the contact strip. A current-supplying lead 2| energizes the section 14 of the contact strip.

As will be apparent, an operator, by simply throwing switch 22 to a proper position, will cause current to fiow through either switches l2 or l3; The current flow will, of course, depend upon whether the shell is disposed within housing 5 or is in the position shown in Fig. 1. In the former case, current will flow-through switch l2 to energize the motor 10 to cause a projection of the lamp and shell. In the latter case, a retraction of these parts into the housing will occur. Switches 12 and [3 as shown in Fig. 1 are, of course, automatically operated, dependent upon the position of curred to a sufficient extent (for example, a 10 swinging of the shell 6) the brush II or the assembly thereof will have moved to a position at which switch I8 will have closed. This will result in a closing of the circuit through leads l9 and 20, the section l5 of the contact-strip assembly, the brush H and the lamp 1. It will be borne in mind that, despite the fact the full amperage load is now flowing through the contacts of the switch l8, the lamp and shell are rarely maintained in this position, but usually continue to move to a point where they extend from 45 to 90 beyond the face of edge of the housing 5. This will depend upon the desire of the operator or pilot to illuminate terrain substantially below the aircraft or in advance of the same. With the motor l functioning, the shell will be projected to an increasing extent. Under these circumstances, brush II will quickly traverse section I and move onto section I I. As it thus moves, current will no longer flow through section IE but rather through section 14. The latter is continuously supplied with current through the lead 2|. Thus, the load will be taken 0115 switch l8 and there will be little, if any, danger of the contacts of the same becoming pitted or burned.

In other words, excepting only during the relatively short intervals during which the brush is traversing the section IS, the lamp current supply will not flow through the switch l8. Consequently, it will not be necessary to increase the weight of the assembly by using relatively large contacts as a part of this switch or by otherwise complicating the structure. Obviously, when the operator desires to retract the shell within the housing he may readily do so by properly manipulating switch 22. By such manipulation, the motor In is again caused to operate, resulting in the brush ll traversing the section l4 and thereupon moving onto the section I5. Under normal operation and shortly after it begins its traversal of this latter section, switch 18 will open so that no demands will be made on this portion of the assembly and the latter will accordingly have an extremely long life.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically atore noted are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes in construction and rearrangements of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A control apparatus including in combination a pair of contact elements, a brush structure connected to a current-consuming unit and disposed adjacent said elements to sequentially traverse the same, a switch connected to and interposed between a source of current supply and the first of said pair of elements, the second of said element pair being adapted for substantially permanent connection with said source, and said brush structure coacting with said switch to cause operation of the same.

2. A control apparatus including in combination a pair of contact elements arranged one to the rear of and spaced from each other, a brush structure connected to a current-consuming unit and to sequentially traverse said contact elements; the engaging surface of said brush having a width substantially in excess of the amount of spacing of said contact elements whereby to bridge such space as said brush moves out of engagement with one element and into electrical engagement with the other of the same, a switch connected to and interposed between a source of current supply and the first of said pair of elements, the second of said element pair being adapted for substantially permanent connection with said source, and said brush structure coacting with said switch to cause operation of the same.

3. A control apparatus including in combination a pair of contact elements, a brush structure connected to a current-consuming unit and disposed adjacent said elements to sequentially traverse the same, a switch assembly connected to and interposed between a source of current supply and the first of said pair of elements, the second of said element pair being adapted for substantially permanent connection with said source, said brush structure coacting with said switch assembly to cause operation of the same, separate mounting means for said contact elements and brush structure, an electric motor connected to said mounting means to cause relative movement thereof and traversal of said brush over said elements, and means forming a part of said switch assembly for controlling the operation of said motor as said brush structure coacts with said assembly.

' CARL E. MEYERHOEFER. 

